## Tzava'at HaRivash Chapter 102

###### Tzava'at HaRivash 102:1
[Tzava'at HaRivash 102:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tzava%27at%20HaRivash/r/102:1)

**והי' ד' לי לאלקים** ר"ל בכל דרכיך דעהו הן טוב הן רע לתורה ומצות. כאשר יארע לו ח"ו איזה רע יחשוב בודאי הוא לכפר עונו אך הצדיק אף על הדרך טוב יש לו לדאוג כי אולי מנכין לו מזכיותיו וזהו והי' ד' לי לאלקים שהוא הוי' מדת הרחמים אולי הוא מדת הדין שהוא אלקי' וצריך אני להוסיף זכיות בתמידות:

**The Way of The Baal Shem Tov. Adapted into English by Rabbi Amiram Markel and Yehudah Shimon Markel, 2020:**
The verse states,¹⁷⁹ “And *HaShem*-*יהו״ה* will be my God-*Elohi”m*-*אלהי״ם*.” This means,¹⁸⁰ “Know Him in all your ways,” that is, in whatever happens to you, whether for good or for bad. If something bad happens to a you, God forbid, contemplate to yourself, “Certainly, this is to atone for my sins.” A person who is a *Tzaddik* should even be concerned when good things happen to him, for perhaps his merits are being consumed and he is being cleaned of them. Thus, the verse, “And *HaShem*-*יהו״ה* will be my God-*Elohi”m*-*אלהי״ם*” means as follows: “Perhaps *HaShem*-*יהו״ה*, who is the attribute of mercy, is in fact, acting with me through the attribute of judgment, which is the title *Elohi”m*-*אלהי״ם*. Therefore, I cannot be satisfied with my former deeds, but must constantly increase my merits and good deeds.”¹⁸¹

footnotes:
¹⁷⁹ Genesis 28:21
¹⁸⁰ Proverbs 3:6
¹⁸¹ See Ginat Egoz by Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Volume One.  Also see his Sefer HaMashalaim, translated as The Book of Allegories, Num. 70.